Quite true Arthur. But it was what happened fairly regularly in those days. Off the top of my head I also remember Gunsynd and Red Anchor followed the same pathway. Doesn't happen as much Today as the small time trainer is virtually a thing of the past.

I was out there at Randwick the day Sticks And Stones smashed the Randwick 1200m track record.

Not exaggerating when I say that he won with his head on his chest - could have run a half a second quicker.

Unfortunately he was unsound and didn't race very much afterwards.

He was by the Star Kingdom stallion Faringdon (who I can't recall siring many horses) out of Winged Beauty, dam of 6 times stakes winner Princess Talaria who was a contemporary of Luskin Star and won the 1977 Thousand Guineas. She produced 7 fillies, 6 of whom went on to deliver stakes winners.

Sticks And Stones went to stud and sired 3 stakes winners, but he made a significant contribution to Australian breeding when he sired a G1 NZ Railway Hcp winner called Diamond Lover, who appears in our Stud Books as Our Diamond Lover. The dam of Our Diamond Lover is the legendary Eight Carat - dam of Octagonal, Mouawad and Kaapstaad.

You could spend hours studying the families of the above mentioned horses.

You go back far enough you find that Winged Beauty is a direct female descendant of Rose Of Denmark, dam of Florence who in 1870 and 1871 won the AJC, VRC and QTC Derbies as well as the VRC Oaks - and the Champagne Stakes as a 2YO as well. Florence also ran 2nd in the 1870 Metropolitan against the older horses. Her 1870 3yo campaign was almost "Surround like" and her achievements are probably a bit understated.

Quite true Arthur. But it was what happened fairly regularly in those days. Off the top of my head I also remember Gunsynd and Red Anchor followed the same pathway. Doesn't happen as much Today as the small time trainer is virtually a thing of the past.

On 26th of January 1976, Sticks and Stones as a 3 year old ridden by Keith Banks ran second to River Ridge in The Challenge Stakes. His trainer was J B Cummings. His dam Winged Beauty was third in the same race in 1968 behind Dawn Boy and Prince Max.

Sticks and Stones won two races when trained by former Sydney racing writer John Nicholls. He was then sold in a package deal which included his Dam Winged Beauty and some younger horses for about $330,000. Included in the new owners were Perce Galea, Ferd Calvin and Percy Sykes. They transferred him to Bart Cummings. His first start for Cummings was when second in The 1973 Challenge Stakes. He then won a midweek race at Randwick on 4th of Feb. 1976. He then went to Melbourne and finished third to Kentland in The Oakeigh Plate. Then on 3rd of March he finished 15th in The Newmarket Hcp. starting at 10-1 behind Toy Show.

Sprinter back in workSYDNEY, Sunday. —Promising young sprinterSticks And Stones returnsto training tomorrow aftera slight respite from racingand his new trainer, T. J.Smith, has the DoombenYen Thousand as his mainimmediate mission.

Since being bought outrightby well-known punter lytrPerce Galea and transferredfrom Bart Cummirtgs toSmith, Sticks And Stones hashad a few week's spell atPrinces Farm, Castlereagh.Smith yesterday instructedacting stable manager EmSmith to have Sticks AndStones returned from thespelling paddock tomorrowand he will be set for the richDoomben sprint on June 3.

Sticks And Stones wasbought outright by Galeafrom his original owner, MrFcrd Calvin, after the pair hadraced the three-year-old inpartnership, before the latterwas disqualified by the AJCstewards over the running ofanother of his horses, CountMayo, at Randwick on March13.

A subsequent injunction hasprevented the disqualificationbeing carried out and the caseis to be heard in the EquityCourt,

On an application by MrGalea, the AJC stewards witnessed the purchase of CountMayo, who will also race inhis colours and be trained byT. J. Smith.

Sticks And Stones, havinghis first run for Smith, wasbeaten in a photo-finish by theVictorian speedster GoldenFantasy over 1,200m in nearrecord time at Randwick afew weeks back.

In winning, Golden Fantasy brought off one of themost successful off-coursebetting coups in years.A change in training stylescould make an. entirelydifferent proposition of SticksAnd Stones who was inclinedto wilt in the closing stages ofa solid race over 1,200m.

Colt from Cummings to SmithSYDNEY, Wednesday.—Promising sprinter Sticks andStones is the first horse partowned by Bart Cummings tobe trained by Tommy Smith.Sticks And Stones has beenswitched from Cummings toSmith to do his future racing,according to part-owner PercGalea.

Asked to comment on themove today Cummings said,"I still own a share in SticksAnd Stones but apparentlythe manager can stipulate whois the trainer".

The race I saw Sticks And Stones break the Randwick 1200m track record happened on the 27th December 1976. He ran 1.08.7 - a time equalled by Ubetido (Ray Guy trained Harry Lawton syndicate horse) on 8/10/80 - sourced from a 1992 Race Book.

Obviously the records stood for a long time.

In the Canberra Times form guide for that day he is described as being a highly promising sprinter having his second start for a new stable (TJ Smith).

It is never wise to underestimate a first start maiden winner but Sticks was only having his second start on the back of a low grade Canterbury win on debut and he was up against the 3YO St Louis Blue (Silver Slipper winner) Hydahban, who had won the Stan Fox in the Spring, Canonbury Stakes winner Dizzy Spell and King's Favourite who would win 2 editions of The Shorts before he was finished. Sticks and Stones was certainly stepping up a rung or two...or three.

Just as an aside, in the same form guide was the field for the Christmas Stakes at Cheltenham. The field contained Idolou, Scamanda, King's Helmet, Superior Air and Buzette - 4 Group 1 winners and a 'blue hen'. Adelaide racing was very good in the 1970's even without Cummings and Hayes.

By the way I think you can take it was John Nicholls. I find repeated references to J.Nicholls as a trainer in Sydney between 1974 and 1976 but only one reference to S.Nicholls. I imagine it was a typo.